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In response to a request from employees of DIAMET Corporation (SIC- 3714), Columbus, Indiana, an investigation was begun into reported dermatitis and respiratory symptoms which were thought to be associated with the application of a rust preventive oil to finished metal parts. DIAMET manufactured sintered, metal machinery components using a powder metallurgy process. At the time of manual inspection, the parts were treated with the rust preventative oil just prior to packaging. Approximately 24 material handlers and packers were involved with applying the rust preventive oil during a work week. At the time of the study the oil was applied using either an automatic spray table or a manual spray bottle. The oil mist concentrations for the personal breathing zone samples ranged from below the minimum detectable to 0.29mg/m3. The concentrations for the area samples from the spray applications ranged from 0.21 to 5.4 mg/m3. The time weighted average concentrations for all the personal breathing zone and area samples were below the NIOSH recommend exposure limits of 5 and 350mg/m3, for oil mist and naphthas, respectively. The authors conclude that there was a potential for exposures to rust preventative oil during manual spraying. Design deficiencies were cited in the automatic spray tables which, when modified, will improve their effectiveness.